


The Princess and Her Protector

by Kikurukina



Category: LoliRock (Cartoon)
Genre: 2017, F/M, Iris is related to the twins, Iristo Weekend, Romantic relationship between Iris and Mephisto as cousins, Season/Series 01
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-16
Updated: 2017-10-16
Packaged: 2019-01-18 00:57:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12377598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kikurukina/pseuds/Kikurukina
Summary: Iris never thought that Mephisto was anything but her enemy until she bumps into him at Starbucks. She did not mean to follow him all the way to Ephedia, but she did, and now she is stuck with him and she is learning that he is so much more.Mephisto is desperate to escape the future awaiting him at home but now that Iris is here, destiny is all too eager to keep him on track. By all rights, he should absolutely hate Iris for what she is and what she represents but he can't bring himself to do it.Written for Iristo Weekend 2017 (October 13-15, 2017).





	The Princess and Her Protector

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts: first date, princess/knight, pumpkin

Iris’s first date was not with Nathaniel.

Now that she thought about it, it was actually with Mephisto. Even if they had been fighting on opposite sides for the Oracle Gems at the time. For all their fighting, Mephisto had never tried to kill her. Sure, brainwash or kidnap her, even swing a sword at her, but never really kill or maim her. She was pretty sure that that sounded pretty messed up in her head. How she had ended up on a date with him was a long story in itself.

When she found Mephisto at Starbucks staring at the menu board, her first instinct was not to call Talia and Auriana and tell them to get their butts down to Starbucks down by the community theatre, but to watch him. She had so many questions, like “Does Mephisto like coffee?” It was so out of place that she almost did not recognize him, but those brilliant emerald eyes gave him away.

It was autumn, so Starbucks was pumping out pumpkin spice lattes and salted caramel mochas like crack to a junkie. There was also a new americano blanco advertised on the board.

The last time she had seen Mephisto, he, his sister and their monster of the week had been soundly defeated. It had been weeks since then. Now, he looked all healed up. He was quite handsome in his Earth clothes. Dark jeans, green varsity jacket and a pair of aviators hanging off a button of his dress shirt. He was naturally tall and built like a linebacker. His dark hair was combed away from his temple and his face already had a shadow growing in, making him look more mature, like he was a local college student on the football team. His lips looked especially soft against his stubble.

_Whoa._ Her heart was racing and her face was red. Her body was flush with all her stupid teenage hormones.

A wave of revulsion shuddered through her. She was checking out the enemy. What was wrong with her? 

She stepped out of the way as a bunch of college students came through the door. Mephisto did the same near where the line started and let the girls move ahead him as he was still undecided with an easy smile curling his lips. The girls smiled back at him and the boys gave him the evil eye.

When the line dwindled and all the customers had been served, the barista behind the cash, a girl called Jenni with a pink heart on the I on her name tag, called Mephisto over.

“What would you like? Something hot or cold? Do you like sweet or just plain coffee?” There was a girly lilt in the barista’s voice that made Iris cringe.

Something moved erratically under Mephisto’s jacket, making him dance around and laugh a bit, and a small prickly hedgehog crawled up out from over his neck. Oh crap, the stupid hedgehog that had hypnotized her.

Iris readied a spell.

“Oh, he’s sooooo cute!” Jenni squealed. 

“His name is Little Ball of Love.”

Iris gritted her teeth, remembering the first incident with the hedgehog. She could not believe that her exclaimed squeals had become the monster’s name.

“I’d hold him, but I’m working. Oh, but look, we have these hedgehog cake pops!” The girl led him to the food display.

Mephisto ooh’d.

Eventually, the girl sold him a mezzo pumpkin spice latte, a smoked turkey sandwich and a handful of hedgehog cake pops and he paid cash. Jenni made an extra effort to spell his “awesome hardcore metal” name correctly and asked why his parents had named him that.

Mephisto smiled, shrugged and went to the end to wait for his order. Little Ball of Love retreated back into his jacket.

Then Jenni turned her attentions on Iris and Iris froze, knowing that Jenni recognized her. They had asked the manager several times to hang Lolirock posters on the cork board in the entrance. “Oh, you’re Iris from Lolirock! Are you ready to order?”

She swore she could feel the malevolence radiate from Mephisto like a cold razor-sharp wind. Nothing changed in the shop, no magic or light shows, no sudden movements, just plain magic thickening in the air. Mephisto stood at the end of the counter, sipping his latte with whip cream and cardamon latching on to his upper lip. A pink tongue swiped up the cream and disappeared between his sinful lips. He emerald gaze was intense and aimed at her.

Iris nearly ran away, but she locked her eyes with Mephisto’s. He dared her to run with his eyes, a sneer on his lips. Talia's number one rule stuck: never run away. 

Her nostrils flared. She ordered a…well, crap, she had come here for a pumpkin spice latte too and she could not order the same thing as her enemy…could she? That would be an admission that they had something in common. She scanned the board for whatever. “I’ll have a flat white. ”

Oh my God, what was wrong with her? She should leave. Like really _leave_ before Mephisto did something like summon his sister. And why did she have to order something so complicated? She should have taken a water bottle and ran.

She reached into her purse for her wallet, and surreptitiously her phone, hoping to get a message out to the girls. As soon as her lock screen lit up, green crystal iced over the screen. She gasped, dropping the phone like it had burned her. Crap.

Mephisto stood at the counter, putting more milk in his latte and fumbling for the right cover size like a normal person at Starbucks.

She paid her drink and went to stand at the end.

“So good to see you, Iris,” Mephisto said lightly, as if they were not mortal enemies.

“I can’t say the same for you. What are you doing here? You better not hurt these people, Mephisto.” She avoided his eyes, trying to not watch his lips as he took another pull of his latte.

God, she hated him right now and she really wished that she had ordered a pumpkin spice latte instead.

“I’m not allowed to drink coffee? I have to eat too.” He waved his latte and sandwich at her.

“Whatever.” She crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently. As if evil needed _coffee_. Utterly ridiculous.

He quirked an eyebrow. “What’s got you riled up?”

“None of your business.”

“Come sit with me.”

“What?” she sputtered.

“Come. Sit. With. Me.” He enunciated each word loudly, much to her embarrassment. “I’m not going to do anything to you. We’ll drink coffee and talk.”

“You’re out of your mind. We’re not friends.”

“You don’t need to be rude.”

“I’m not rude!” she said petulantly. “I don’t associate with your kind.”

“ _My kind?_ ” he said darkly. For a moment, she feared that he would start throwing spells. Instead, he walked right up to her, leaning in way too close to her personal space, his pectoral bumping into her shoulder. He slanted his head to her ear and shivers ran up her spine. “I didn’t realize that the Princess of Ephedia was so busy and self-important that she had no time for an audience with a member of her own _family_.”

His voice was tinged with so much venom that she was struck dumb.

His voice was stern and cold, the first time she had heard it like that. She hated it. It made her feel like crap, like she was the one being the irrational asshole in this conversation. This was the first time that Mephisto had ever offered to talk. What was he trying to say? Was this his form of a truce? 

“What do you mean…? You’re not my fa…” She threw out the half-assed questions, failing to sound intelligent. Then she composed herself. “You’re lying. We are most definitely not family.”

“You’re not serious, are you?”

She tried to look for hints that he was lying, but if she turned her head, she would be face-to-face with him and she would be kissing him. And that would be awful.

“You seriously don’t know then. That or Talia lied to you.”

“Lied to me about what?” she gritted. God, where was her stupid flat white? Was she really entertaining this conversation with him?

“Come sit with me and I’ll tell you all about our family. And you can pet Little Ball of Love.” Mephisto picked an empty table beside a bay window.

“Grande flat white for Iris!” the barista called out.

Iris snatched her stupid drink from the barista, plastic cover and green splash stick in hand, and walked out of the Starbucks. She did not look back as she turned the corner.

The further she got away, the more she started to doubt. What if Mephisto was being genuine? What he was going to tell her something that really changed the game? She had to at least give him a chance to explain himself. Mephisto was surely not completely evil. He did care for his sister a lot. That was proof of humanity, right?

Stupidly, Iris found herself back at the Starbucks. Mephisto looked out the window listlessly. Little Ball of Love was on the table nibbling at a piece of lettuce and turkey on a napkin. She pointed to the empty chair across from him. 

“Hey, is this seat taken?” she asked. She knew her face was red and her hands were sweaty. This was insane. She probably should have called for reinforcements but what exactly was Mephisto going to do in a cafe full of people? He was eating lunch like a normal person, except he did not have a smartphone in his hand.

He whipped his head so fast she was sure she heard his neck pop. His green eyes widened and a happy smile slowly curved his lips. “Of course, princess.”

“So…what did you want to tell me?”

“Tell you what?” He took a bite into his sandwich and pushed another piece of turkey to Little Ball of Love. Instead, the little monster stared up at Iris with its beady black eyes and quills erect. “Stop that,” he told the monster gently, smoothing down the quills. “Eat your veggies.”

That was probably the strangest thing she had ever seen, Iris thought. It was definitely going down in her diary.

“You said that I don’t know something about my family,” she reminded.

“ _Our_ family.”

Iris’s heart pounded against her ribs. “What does that mean exactly?”

“Didn’t Talia or Auriana tell you who Praxina and I are?”

“You’re Gramorr’s henchmen. You do his dirty work because he’s trapped inside  _my_ castle.” She chose her words carefully, trying to project confidence and rightful ownership. Everything was hers by birthright. It was one of the first things Talia had taught her about her past.

Mephisto quirked a curious brow. His face was so expressive, especially his eyes. If he had been normal and she had met him off the street, she would have never suspected him of being evil. “They’re holding the truth from you.”

“Yeah, like what? Finding out everything I thought I knew about myself was a pretty big shocker.”

“Iris, you and I, we’re family. We were…” Mephisto paused and she sensed that there was something that he was withholding. “Our great grandmother is still alive.”

Iris nearly knocked her flat white over Little Ball of Love. The hedgehog reared indignantly. She had a _great grandmother_?

“Sorry!” she told the miniature monster but it decided to wreck the place. She picked up her dumb drink and threw it in the garbage. She used the short trip between the table and garbage to process what the green-eyed boy had just told her.

No, it had to be complete and utter garbage. He was trying to pull the wool over her eyes. She just did not know how.

“So…does that make you Prince of Ephedia or something?”

Mephisto barked at the ridiculous idea. “No way. Titles don’t work like that and I wouldn’t want to be. I am a knight, I’m happy with that. Praxina’s the actual princess because she was born first.”

His smile and laughter were infectious and she found herself smiling like an idiot.

“It doesn’t mean that there’s any less responsibility though.” He sobered up quickly and returned to eating his sandwich.

“Like what kind?”

“Boring stuff,” he said between bites. “Like getting married and producing an heir.”

The silence grew uncomfortably long, at least for Iris. Mephisto was already thinking about building a family when most Earth boys were busy trying to decide a career path. What kind of girl did he like?

“But aren’t you still too young?” she asked instead.

“Try saying that to my father. The war messed up a lot of things, including his perception of life and how short it is. He’s pushing it more on me than on Praxina…because well, he has no idea how to marry off his daughter and he thinks I’m more likely to get it done than her.”

Mephisto’s brows were knitted together and his shoulders were deflated, weighted down by burden and duty. She had a feeling that he was telling the truth, the emotion too hot and raw on his face. Her ached for him. She wanted to reach over and grab his hand, assure him that everything would be alright. She had never imagined that this was the boy’s life—his real life—on Ephedia.

“I’m sorry,” she said as if she could draw the curtain on a window of realism. This was too real.

He shrugged and finished his sandwich. He froze for a second and he brought a hand to the emerald-studded black ear cuff. She sensed magic flow into it and she prepared for a fight. It looked like he had received some bad news.

“I have to cut this date short,” he said.

She blushed furiously, not in a good way. “Is something going on? Are we…are you going to fight?”

“No. It…it was nice talking to you, even if you’re my enemy.” Without so much as a goodbye, he finished his latte and grabbed Little Ball of Love, exiting the Starbucks like something was chasing him. Christ, he was in a hurry, she thought. 

Like he had an emergency. He was probably going to find Praxina.

Iris grabbed her purse and followed him down the street, nearly running. He ducked into a gutted office building. She wrinkled her nose at the smell of rotting wood, empty beer cans and whatever else. Wires and skeletal light fixtures hung from the ceiling.

She hid around the corner and used her makeup mirror to look into the room. Mephisto paced around the empty room, using magic to clear out the dust, as if the uncleanliness offended him. He presented a different figure, one of a noble and powerful wizard. His clothes had changed, she realized, to something more grand and Ephedian than the usual uniform he always wore. There were more brilliant greens and deep blacks, but she could not see much.

000000

A crystal spire sprouted out of the ground containing Praxina’s murky image. Rather than her usual uniform, she wore a sheath-like gown that fell to the floor in a cascade of creamy chiffon. Her top was overlaid with black lace and rubies, her shoulders covered with white ermine. Her hair was gathered in a perfect bun and her makeup was immaculate as always. She looked much like the untouchable princess she was.

Her brows were drawn together in a rare display of emotion. “Mephistopheles,” she said softly.

Her voice was hoarse.

He knew it immediately. She had no good news. He had been putting off his duty and pretending that he was too busy doing Gramorr’s bidding.

“They want you to come back to court, little brother. I…I tried everything I could think of, short of setting the house on fire.”

“I know you did.” He tried to hide his disappointment. It was not his sister’s fault anyways. 

“I’m sorry. I really tried to put my foot down on this stupidity.”

“It’s alright, Praxina.” He was resigned to his fate. He straightened his shoulders, trying to appear strong. “I’ll be over in two days.”

Praxina nodded. His sister’s image faded and the crystal spire shattered into dust.

His green magic circle popped up under his boots, spinning at dizzying speeds.

_“Subvolo!”_

Dark magic spread throughout the room, blackening the walls. Energy coalesced into a single point in front of him. The whole room was radiant with electric green energy. He disappeared in a flash of lightning. Suddenly, he was crossing through time and space, flying by galaxies and speeding past stars.

He marvelled at the splendour of the vast universe. Then he heard a scream, not that he could hear much as he travelled faster than light, but something was off with his portal. He turned around and came face-to-face with the Princess of Ephedia.

“Iris?” he shouted. What was she doing here?

Her face was full of surprise as constellations flew by her. The universe was reflected in her diamond blue eyes, a sight that took his breath away. She stared back in amazement. In another universe, he would have loved to have gotten know her better, not as enemies on opposing sides of a war and certainly not as lovers, but maybe as friends at court.

Then the stars disappeared, replaced by a never-ending horizon of blue sky. They were in free fall, speeding towards the earth.

Mephisto regained his composure midair, levitating easily on the currents. He made sure that Little Ball of Love was still in his pocket. He looked around for Iris.

And then a moment of cold reality washed over him. Iris did not know how to fly without her dumb horse.

“Oh klatznik, no!” The green-eyed boy hurled down towards the princess, catching sight of her pink dress. She was in full panic, twisting in every direction.

“Iris!” he shouted even though he knew it was useless.

The ground was coming up too fast for his liking. He closed the distance between them as sharp winds cut his face. She looked up at him helplessly. She did not scream, aware that it would change nothing.

With an extra boost of magic, he sped like a bullet from a gun. He grabbed her by the arm and ripped her out of her free fall into his arms, slowing his descent until he was floating gently above the treetops.

The girl was shaking, her skin pale, and she held onto his shirt desperately. Her eyes were closed tight, scared out of her wits. Most people would be after falling thousands of feet out of the sky.

“Iris, it’s okay. We’re safe. I’ve got you. You’re not falling anymore,” he whispered soothingly. He lifted her to his chest and she held on even tighter.

He landed in a small rocking clearing near a river and laid her down on a slab of crystal. Sweet terra firma.

Without ceremony, she pushed him away, horrified that she had held him so intimately. He gave her her space. 

It took Iris a while to pull herself together, but she was like a newborn fawn on spindly legs. It did not help that she wore heels. He was amazed at her tenacity to take control of the situation and face it head-on. Despite this, he forced her to sit down and catch her breath. She was strong, but what she had in raw power was nothing compared to his experience.

“What did you do, Mephisto?” she said, the fight coming back into her. “Where are we?”

“‘What did I do?’ What did _you_ do, Iris?” he hissed. He removed his black coat and put it over her shoulders. It was long enough to cover her legs and the hooded collar was lined with ermine. Underneath, she was shaking like a leaf, a hand on her magic pendant. The air was cooler than it was in Sunny Bay.

She looked around her. They were clearly not on Earth. The tall skyscrapers and whirring cars were gone, replaced with lush green forests. There were chips of crystal everywhere, growing like moss on a rock. The air even smelled different.

“I…I followed you,” she said. 

“And why would you do that?” he drawled, buttoning his coat all the way down to her knees. “Don’t you know I’m pure evil?”

“I thought you were going to find your sister and fight.”

“I know it’s hard to believe, but I do have a life outside of fighting Lolirock and hunting for Oracle Gems.”

“Yeah, like what?” she snapped.

Mephisto kept silent and leveled a hard look at her. Inside, he already knew he was in trouble on so many levels. 

The lack of an answer made Iris more nervous than she would have liked to admit.

“So where are we?” she asked, waving a hand. “This doesn’t exactly look like downtown Sunny Bay.”

“Ephedia.”


End file.
